


Doma

by ancient_red_snapdragon



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: M/M, mShenko, this bad boy can fit so much misunderstanding and pining in it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 04:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29994147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ancient_red_snapdragon/pseuds/ancient_red_snapdragon
Summary: Doma (δόμα) - ancient Greek for giftA holiday harbinger gift for mallaidhsomo set in their Oenomelverse.Eric tries to deal with what he knows is coming while Kaidan tries to deal with who his old lover has become. Neither wants to deal with falling in love again. But they do.
Relationships: Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	Doma

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mallaidhsomo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mallaidhsomo/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Alke](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28160325) by [mallaidhsomo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mallaidhsomo/pseuds/mallaidhsomo). 



> I tried to be delicate in handling another person’s OC and hope I did Eric Shepard justice here. Kaidan is a favourite character of mine and any chance to write more pining and angst with him is a joy!

A gift was a good place to start thought Kaidan. It certainly wouldn't completely erase how much of an arse he'd been on Eden Prime but certainly it could be a gesture of good faith. He walked along the promenade of the inlet that separated North Vancouver from the rest of the city proper, a small wrapped model of the Normandy SR-1 under one arm. People walled past and smiled when they saw his military dress and he smiled back of course, but the warmth just wasn't there.   
How could it be?  
Dread hung in his stomach like a live grenade. He trusted Shepard, of course he did and despite all his reservations about Eric having worked with Cerberus he knew Shepard wouldn't have lied.  
The Reapers are coming. The words echoed in his ears. 

Kaidan grimaced and walked a little faster back towards Alliance Defence Command. The brutalist old building didn't so much as tower above the Vancouver skyline as glower, weathered concrete and glass squished between the corporate towers and residential blocks.  
Lieutenant Aran had slipped him the news just this morning - Shepard was currently serving as a ‘civilian consultant’ at Defence Command. Kaidan snorted. A fancy way to say kicked out but too valuable to let out into the world. 

For the tenth time today Kaidan brought up his omnitool and flicked to the messages section, staring at the blinking cursor before deleting the message that had been written there. No matter how many times he tried he just couldn’t think up anything suitable enough.

So I hear you still think the reaper invasion is imminent, don’t worry I believe you, how about a dinner before the end of the world?

Urg. Corny, condescending and plain childish. Try again Alenko.

Heard about the Alpha Relay going boom. How were the fireworks?

No no and more no. Jesus people died there, it wasn’t a joking matter. Well maybe it would be for joker, Moreau always did have a dark sense of humour. God he missed the crew and oh god the ship... No. Stop. 

Kaidan sighed and sat down at a bench overlooking the bay. His feet had carried him all the way to the foot of Alliance Defence Command. He craned his neck, looking up at the hundreds of glass windows, identical clones without any distinguishing features. Maybe Shepard was behind one of them. Maybe.   
He shook his head. He’d had three weeks to do this but here he was, minutes or seconds away from going in there and asking to see him and he’d still given Eric no warning. Maybe he didn’t have to, maybe it could be a surprise.

But the tightening, knotting fear that squirmed in his guts said otherwise. Better to have it done now if Eric didn’t want to see him, better to know than to have to hear it said in person, said to his face. God, he should be better than this. Countless battles. Charging Krogan, an army of Geth, Saren and Sovereign and all the shit the world had to shove at him and this was what scared him? Urg.

Another shake of the head, another sigh. The gulls squawked uncaring jeers and the milleua of humanity flowed around Kaidan. Another breath.  
Kaidan placed the gift down next to him, lifting his omnitool. After a moment he started typing.

Eric was looking out the window again. Not that there was much else to do here. He’d already paced a running track into the apartment’s too-new carpet. The peering eyes in the corridors and the gym made him angry, watching the feeds made him angry and talking to anyone in the military besides James or Anderson made him really angry. Which ruled out basically everywhere and everyone in this building. The building he was currently not allowed to leave and probably wouldn’t be allowed to leave for the rest of his life. At least he wouldn’t have long to wait.

He resisted the urge to punch the glass again. The bloodstains from last time were about as visible as the cracks he’d left, which was to say, non-existent. He looked down at the apartments below. The window looked out the back of the Defence Centre, away from the bay towards the residential blocks of Vancouver, packed with life. From this angle, high up it was a tapestry of grey and green, rooftop gardens and lawns alive with life - picnics, family lunches, beehives and children playing.

The rest of this place made him angry. Looking out this window only made him scared. He could deal with that a little easier at least. If we lose, we lose everything Shepard. Was is the illusive man’s voice in his head or Anderson’s? He couldn’t remember who’d said those words to him.

The soft pulse of an incoming message on his omnitool broke his train of though before it trained off into confused uselessness.   
K. Alenko - >Hi. Hope you’re okay.

... A moment passed ...

Heard you’re on earth, maybe we could catch up?

Well. That was unexpected. Of all the things to happen today, that was not one Eric would have predicted. Kaidan was on earth from the sounds of it and that brought a whole krogan-cocktail of emotions rushing back all at once, a load of emotions that Eric sure didn’t want to deal with right now. Although, he guessed he did technically had the time. But he still didn’t want to.

Besides he hadn’t seen Alenko since Eden Prime and that whole incident left a sour taste in his mouth. Kaidan’s message afterwards had been nice but Eric had never responded and then the collectors and the Alpha relay and th-

I’ve bought a gift. Hope you don’t mind.

What was he supposed to say to that? Thanks but I can’t leave Vancouver right now or even the building i’m in. Also I know for a fact that we’ve barely got days before the world ends so I’m not really in the mood to kiss up and make nice. He stared at the screen, teeth dangerously close to grinding themselves into dust. But also seeing Kaidan could be nice so maybe they should make a date except not a date date just a time that wasn’t now. Just... he couldn’t deal with this now.  
He just had to close this off and he’d come back to Kaidan later.

E. Shepard - >Thanks. Later perhaps.

Shepard let out deep breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. Okay this was definitely something he was going to file under ‘deal with later’. Kaidan was hardly waiting outside his door with chocolates. It could wait. 

He closed the terminal and turned his entire omni tool off. Peace and quiet for a bit. That’d do him good. Then maybe he’d hit the gym with James again. And talk to Anderson again, see if anyone was finally listening to him.

He watched a young boy playing with a model Aliance fighter. It was hard to tell age at this distance but he couldn’t be younger than six or seven. He ran through the rooftop garden he was in, model swooping and diving, pulling up at the last moment. The kid mimed the fighter just barely escaping a big explosion and found a hint of a smile lighting up the corners of his mouth.

There was a beep at the door behind him and Eric turned sharply as it slid open to reveal James Vega, all in casual gear, snapping into a salute.

“Commander.”

Eric almost laughed, “You’re not supposed to call me that anymore James.”

“Not supposed to salute you either..” the teasing ghost of a smile glanced over the big man’s face before it settled on serious. Serious and tense. “Defence committee wants to see you.”

“Sounds serious.”

“It is.”

That’s how it started. And then it just didn’t stop.   
The Reapers, leaving earth, mars, palavern, tuchunka, thessia and now... now here.

Eric breathed in deeply, looking down at Kaidan, one of his broad shoulders nestled under Eric’s right arm, his head squarely on Eric’s collarbone. He was letting out those little not-quite-asleep snores, eyes gently closed. A smile touched Eric’s lips, a genuine smile.

“You know I never got that gift from you Kaidan,” he said gently, mussing the other man’s hair slightly.

“Mhrmnn,” said Kaidan, more playful annoyance than genuine sleepyness, “what gift?”

“The gift, the one you said you had in the message on earth.”

“Oh,” there was a sharp intake of breath, “In Vancouver.”

“Yeah.” There was a moment of silence that wrapped the entire cabin up in its wings and after a second Eric continued. “But you said you had a gift. I guess it’s gone now hey?”

Kaidan stirred, raising his head to look Eric in the eyes. “Uh no. You got it.”

Eric blinked in confusion, “what do you mean I got it?”

“I mean I didn’t give it to you but you got it. I took it with me, put it with my emergency pack and it got onto the Normandy but when I went to unpack, it was gone. But somehow you still got it.” He raised a hand from Shepard’s chest and pointed over to the desk where the little collection of model ships hung and right at the top, in pride of place there sat the Normandy SR-1.”

Eric looked down at Kaidan in wonder, the pieces slowly falling into place. Kaidan sat up, an incredulous smile on his face. “Don’t tell me you took it from my bags.”

“It was behind a load of crates in the cargo bay,” Eric began.

“What were you doing looking behind crates in the cargo bay?” Kaidan spluttered the words, fully grinning now.

“My ship, I get to look where I want.”

“You sure do,” Kaidan barked out a laugh and Eric chuckled in response. “Still, you’ve got it and that’s what counts. I wondered when I saw it in here, I did wonder. But I’m just glad you got it. Just glad I got you.”

Eric looked down at his love, a gentle smile on his lips. “Me too.”


End file.
